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After a particularly bad blemish break-out I started to look at herbal teas as a way to help improve my skin's condition. After all, what easier way than to replace my usual English breakfast tea with a herbal tea to help my skin. I started to look at herbal teas but my searches kept bringing up matcha tea when searching for anti-oxidants. Here is some really good information from matchasource.com.Why is matcha better than loose leaf tea?Every day, countless people throw away valuable antioxidants and minerals. While seemingly unimaginable, that’s exactly what happens when you brew a cup of green tea because water can only extract a fraction of green teas benefits. The majority actually remains unused, trapped in the tea leaves. In reality, the only way to truly take advantage of green teas full potential is to consume the entire leaf. But that doesn’t mean you need to start eating tea leaves. The simplest solution is to just enjoy a bowl of matcha. Because matcha is straight, stoneground tea leaves, matcha provides you with green teas powerful arsenal of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids in a way no other green tea can.

In fact, to even begin to match the potency found in a single serving of matcha, you would need to drink at least ten cups of brewed green tea. When it comes to helping you achieve and maintain optimum health, matcha is without equal.

Why is matcha tea considered an anti-oxidant powerhouse?

One of the biggest buzz words in nutrition, antioxidants are naturally occurring chemical compounds that prevent aging and chronic diseases. Nowadays, a variety of fruits and vegetables are lauded for their antioxidant properties, leading to a host of products with all kinds of claims. But matcha is unparalleled in comparison. Firstly, matcha is packed with exponentially more antioxidants according to the latest innovation in antioxidant research.

Using the testing method known as ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), experts at Tufts University discovered that matcha possesses an amazing twenty times more so than pomegranates or blueberries. Matchas ORAC rating is a mighty 1573 units per gram, compared to pomegranates 105 units per gram or blueberries 93 units.

Why does this matter? Antioxidants are the body’s defense agents. They are chemical compounds that prevent aging and chronic diseases. Put simply, the more you have, the better equipped your body is in the fight against infections and disease.

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I've just found this pocket perfume kit for just $12.00 at Vetiver Aromatics. They will even ship internationally, although you will need to select the carrier oil rather than the alcohol as the alcohol cannot be mailed overseas.

This would be fun for kids or teenagers to understand how aromas change when combined and how oils dissolve in alcohol or disperse in a carrier oil. A great way to try making your own scent without paying out a lot of money and it makes for a fantastic holiday gift.

This post is a little different than the usual post. I'm still painting flowers and I've been lucky enough to have the house full of peonies all summer long. I love to have the real thing in the house for inspiration, and I admit I don't always through out a bunch of flowers just because they begin to fade and drop their petals. I love the soft colors of wilting blooms and often leave them until just the bare stems are left in the vase. So what to do with all the faded petals - they seem too pretty to throw away.

I remember making rose petal tea as a kid. I loved making lotions and potions with things I found in the garden, but I had no idea if peonies were edible or not. A quick Google search told me peony petals and leaves are safe to ingest and have been used for centuries in China in teas and salads.

I put about twelve dried petals into a cup and poured hot but not boiling water over the top and let them seep for a minute or so. I can't say my cup of peony tea was too flavorful. but after reading about it's antioxidant properties I'm keen to try a store brought, professionally made, peony tea. I noticed the teas have both the leaves and the petals so I'm guessing it's the leaves that make the stronger taste and the petals that add the fragrance which would be why my cup of petals were rather bland.

Below are the top three that made my list. Has anyone tried these brands? If you have I'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a comment in the section below and I will respond.

Summer is well and truly over and all the visitors for this year have gone. Now I just need all the back to school activities to calm down so that I can find some painting time.
I signed up for Donna Downey's Abstract Florals class to help me get back into a painting rhythm.

But then I tried it. I took Cadmium red and mixed it with Titanium white and got more of a peach than a pink.

So how do we mix a bright pink?

Will Kemp explains below how to mix a bright pink with acrylic paint.

Watching Will's mini color mixing lesson taught me not only how to create different pinks but also the importance of good color theory.

If you are like me and jumped straight into painting without any basic color theory and need to go back to basics I've found some color theory classes that have been very helpful.

The first is Will Kemp's Simple Color Mixing Course. If you liked his pink explanation above you may want to sign up for his class.

The next class is for watercolor called Luminous Watercolor Mixing by Kateri Ewing, but I found it really easy to apply the information to acrylic paint and at the end of the lesson I had a really good color map of my split primary palette.